1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to displaying documentation in software products, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automated display of documentation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various techniques are used to provide information to a computer user. Pop-ups such as “tooltips” are a common means of providing information about user selectable items in a user interface. Many software applications typically provide documentation, such as tooltips to assist the user with understanding and operation of the provided software application. For example, when a user hovers a mouse pointer over items in a toolbar or when the user clicks on a help button, information is presented on the screen. The information that is presented must be hard coded into the software application before the application is compiled (if applicable) or released. The user interface is pre-programmed so the information for that application may be retrieved and presented automatically.
However, operating system level components typically have no documentation that can be directly accessed. ADOBE® Acrobat®, for example, has over 1000 registry key (Windows) and plist (Mac) preferences. The Windows Registry, for example, is a hierarchical system of storage, i.e., a database that holds configurations and settings information (hereinafter referred to as “preferences”) for an operating system. Hardware, software, applications and user preference settings are all saved and stored by the Windows Registry. A similar mechanism is employed by Macintosh in the form of plist files. All of the registry keys and plist preferences control how a software application works for a particular user or computer. At an enterprise level, these preferences are set by a system administrator or an information technology (IT) specialist before a software application is deployed across their organizations. Currently, documentation files for operating system level components are not native or packaged with the registry. Therefore, a system administrator or IT specialist needs to access online documentation and/or download relevant documentation from available sources. Then the system administrator or IT specialist must look up the preference options for a component, exit from the documentation, return to the operating system level to set preferences and go back and forth for each of the many registry key or plist preferences. As a result, existing conventional techniques are unable to offer simple and automated solutions for presenting exact documentation (or preference options) for an operating system level component selected by the user.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for automated display of documentation.